The album was recorded in New York City (mainly at The Hit Factory) in two stages between 1993 and 1994. In 1994, Biggie was 21 years old going on 22 when he recorded the album. In 1993, Biggie was signed to the Uptown Records label by A&RSean "Puffy" Combs. Biggie started recording his debut album in New York, after making numerous guest appearances among his label-mates' singles during the previous year. The first tracks recorded include the album's darker, less radio-friendly content (including "Ready to Die," "Gimme the Loot" and "Things Done Changed"). In these sessions, XXL magazine describe an "inexperienced, higher-pitched" Biggie sounding "hungry and paranoid".[4]

When executive producer Sean "Puffy" Combs was fired from Uptown, Biggie's career hung in limbo, as the album was only partially completed. After a brief period dealing drugs in North Carolina,[5] Biggie returned to the studio the following year on Combs' new Bad Boy Records label possessing "a smoother, more confident vocal tone" and completed the album. In this stage, the more commercial-sounding tracks of the album were recorded, including the album's singles. Between the two stages, XXL writes that Biggie moved from writing his lyrics in notebooks to freestyling them from memory.[4]

The album was released with a cover depicting an infant resembling the artist, though sporting an afro, which pertains to the album's concept of the artist's life from birth to his death. It has been listed as among the best album covers in hip hop.[6]

On March 24, 2006, Bridgeport Music and Westbound Records won a federal lawsuit against Bad Boy Records for copyright infringement, with a jury deciding that Combs and Bad Boy had illegally used samples for the production of the songs "Ready to Die", "Machine Gun Funk", and "Gimme the Loot".[7][8] The jury awarded $4.2 million in punitive and direct damages to the two plaintiffs, and federal judge Todd Campbell enacted an immediate sales ban on the album and tracks in question.[8] On appeal, the Sixth Circuit found the damages unconstitutionally high and in violation of due process and remanded the case, at which point Campbell reduced them by $2.8 million; however, the verdict was upheld.[9][10] All versions of the album released since the lawsuit are without the disputed samples.[11]

Although a fair use issue, Combs and Bad Boy never raised the legal concept of the fair use doctrine in their defense.[9] This decision was questioned by some legal experts: Anthony Falzone of the Fair Use Project at Stanford Law School criticized Combs and Bad Boy for not defending the legality of sampling and suggested that they might have refused to raise such a defense because they feared it could later imperil their control over their own music.[12]

On April 2, 2014, Lee Hutson of The Impressions filed a multimillion-dollar copyright infringement suit against Combs, Bad Boy Records, and the estate of the late Notorious B.I.G. for copyright infringement, alleging that his song "Can't Say Enough About Mom" was illegally sampled in the production of the song "The What".[13] The estate countersued in turn, claiming the sample as used was short, adapted, and supplemented, and thus subject to fair use,[14] a legal tactic not pursued previously.[12]

The production on the album was mainly handled by Easy Mo Bee and The Hitmen. Cheo H. Coker of Rolling Stone depicted the beats as "heavy bottomed and slick, but B.I.G.'s rhymes are the showstoppers. The tracks only enhance them, whether it's the live bass driving a menacing undercurrent or [the] use of bluesy guitar and wah-wah feedback" and that the production is used to "push the rapper to new heights."[15] The production is mainly sample-based with the samples varying from the percussion of funk tracks to the vocals of hip hop songs. Steve Huey presented some criticism over the beats, stating that the "deliberate beats do get a little samey, but it hardly matters: this is Biggie's show".[16]

The Notorious B.I.G.'s lyrics on the album were generally praised by critics. Many critics applauded his story-telling ability such as AllMusic writer Steve Huey, who stated "His raps are easy to understand, but his skills are hardly lacking — he has a loose, easy flow and a talent for piling multiple rhymes on top of one another in quick succession". He also went on to mention that his lyrics are "firmly rooted in reality, but play like [a] scene from a movie".[16]Touré, writing for The New York Times, referred to The Notorious B.I.G., proclaiming that he stood out from other rappers because "his lyrics mix autobiographical details about crime and violence with emotional honesty, telling how he felt while making a living as a drug dealer".[17] The album is also noted for its dark tone and sinister sense of depression.[16] In the original Rolling Stone review, Cheo H Coker declared that he "maintains a consistent level of tension by juxtaposing emotional highs and lows".[15] "Things Done Changed" was also one of the few hip hop songs in The Norton Anthology of African American Literature.[18]

The lyrics on Ready to Die tend to deal with violence, drug dealing, women, alcohol and marijuana use, and other elements of Notorious B.I.G.'s environment. He rapped about these topics in "clear, sparse terms, allowing the lyrics to hit the first time you hear them".[15] The album contains a loose concept starting out with an intro that details his birth, his early childhood, his adolescence and his life at the point of the album's release.[17] Songs on the album range from homicide narratives ("Warning") to braggadocios battle raps ("The What," "Unbelievable"). The final song was "Suicidal Thoughts", a song where The Notorious B.I.G. contemplates and finally commits suicide.

Three singles were released from the album: "Juicy", "Big Poppa", "One More Chance" and a promotional track of Biggie: "Warning". According to XXL the more commercial sound of the singles compared to the rest of the album was a result of encouragement by Combs during the later recording sessions in which they were recorded.[4]

"Juicy" was released as the lead single on August 8, 1994. It peaked at number 27 on the Billboard Hot 100, number 14 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks and reached number 3 on the Hot Rap Singles.[20] It shipped 500,000 copies in the United States and the RIAA certified it Gold on November 16, 1994.[21] Produced by Combs, it features a prominent sample of "Juicy Fruit" as performed by James Mtume. AllMusic's Steve Huey stated that, along with the other singles, it was an "upbeat, commercial moment", calling it a "rags-to-riches chronicle".[16] Andrew Kameka, of HipHopDX.com, stated that the song was one of his "greatest and most-revealing songs" and went on to say it was a "Part-autobiography, part-declaration-of-success. It document[s] the star's transition from Brooklyn knucklehead to magazine cover story."[22] Producer Pete Rock, who was commissioned to remix the track, alleged that Puffy stole the idea for the original song's beat after hearing it from him during a visit. Rock explained this in an interview with Wax Poetics:[23]

I did the original version, didn't get credit for it. They came to my house, heard the beat going on the drum machine, it's the same story. You come downstairs at my crib, you hear music. He heard that shit and the next thing you know it comes out. They had me do a remix, but I tell people, and I will fight it to the end, that I did the original version of that. I'm not mad at anybody, I just want the correct credit.

"Big Poppa" was released as the second single on December 24, 1994 and like the previous single, it was a hit on multiple charts. It reached number six on the Billboard Hot 100, number four on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks and number one on Hot Rap Singles.[20] It sold over a million units and the RIAA certified it Platinum on May 23, 1995.[21] Featuring production by Combs and Chucky Thompson of The Hitmen, it samples "Between the Sheets" by The Isley Brothers. The song was nominated at the 1996 Grammy Awards for Best Rap Solo Performance, but lost to Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise". Steve Huey named it an "overweight-lover anthem".[16]

"One More Chance" was released as the third single on June 9, 1995. The single was a remix of the album track. It was produced by Combs and featured a sample from DeBarge's "Stay With Me". It peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached number one on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks and Hot Rap Singles.[20] It sold over a million copies and the RIAA certified it Platinum on July 31, 1995.[21] Steve Huey labeled it a "graphic sex rap".[16]Rolling Stone writer Cheo H. Coker had a similar view of the song, noting that it was "one of the bawdiest sex raps since Kool G Rap's classic, "Talk Like Sex" and continued, stating it "proves hilarious simply because of B.I.G.'s Dolemitelike vulgarity."[15]

Ready to Die received critical acclaim from music critics. In his review for Rolling Stone, Cheo H. Cocker stated "Ready to Die is the strongest solo rap debut since Ice Cube's Amerikkka's Most Wanted. From the breathtakingly visual moments of his birth to his Cobainesque end in "Suicidal Thoughts," B.I.G. proves a captivating listen. It's difficult to get him out of your head once you sample what he has to offer".[15]Robert Christgau from The Village Voice commented "His sex raps are erotic, his jokes are funny, and his music makes the thug life sound scary rather than luxuriously laid back. When he considers suicide, I not only take him at his word, I actively hope he finds another way".[25]The New York Times wrote "Though drug dealing carries tremendous heroic value with some young urban dwellers, he sacrifices the figure's romantic potential. His raps acknowledge both the excitement of drug dealing and the stress caused by the threat from other dealers, robbers, the police and parents, sometimes one's own. In presenting the downside of that life, Ready to Die offers perhaps the most balanced and honest portrait of the dealer's life of any in hip-hop".[32]

Q magazine gave Ready to Die three out of five stars, and stated "the natural rapping, clever use of sound effects and acted dialogue, and concept element (from a baby being born at the start to the fading heartbeat at the end) set this well apart from the average gangsta bragging".[28] In their original review for Ready to Die, The Source gave it four-and-a-half out of five 'mics', stating "Big weaves tales like a cinematographer, each song is like another scene in his lifestyle. Overall, this package is complete: ridiculous beats, harmonizing honeys, ill sound effects, criminal scenarios, and familiar hooks".[30]

In retrospect, Ready to Die has been highly acclaimed. In 1998, The Source included it on their 100 Best Rap Albums of All Time list,[33] and in 2002, they re-rated it to the maximum five 'mics'.[34]Rolling Stone has also given acclaim to Ready to Die over the years. In 2003, they ranked it number 133 on their 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list,[33] and one year later, they re-rated it to five stars.[29] In 2011, Rolling Stone also placed it at number eight on their 100 Best Albums of the Nineties list, and described it as "mapping out the sound of 'Nineties cool".[35] Kilian Murphy from Stylus Magazine wrote favorably of the album in a retrospective review, and concluded "Sweet, hypocritical, sensitive, violent, depressed and jubilant; these words could all fittingly describe Big at various points on Ready to Die."[36]

Steve Huey from AllMusic gave it five stars, stating "The album that reinvented East Coast rap for the gangsta age, Ready to Die made the Notorious B.I.G. a star. Today it's recognized as one of the greatest hardcore rap albums ever recorded, and that's mostly due to Biggie's skill as a storyteller".[19] In 2006, Time magazine included it on their 100 Greatest Albums of All Time list, and stated "On Ready to Die, Wallace took his street corner experiences and filtered them through his considerable charm. The result was a record that mixed long stretches of menace with romance and lots of humor. No rapper ever made multi-syllabic rhymes sound as smooth".[37] The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[38]

The album shipped 57,000 units in its first week of release.[46] However, it was then certified Gold by the RIAA only two months after its release on November 16, 1994, and was certified double Platinum on October 16, 1995, only a year and one month after its release.[21] Ready to Die was then certified triple Platinum on August 26, 1998 and was later certified 4× Platinum by the RIAA on October 19, 1999.[21]

1.
The Notorious B.I.G.
–
Christopher George Latore Wallace, better known by his stage names The Notorious B. I. G. Biggie, or Biggie Smalls, was an American rapper and he is consistently ranked as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time. Wallace was raised in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, the following year, Wallace led his childhood friends to chart success through his protégé group, Junior M. A. F. I. A. While recording his album, Wallace was heavily involved in the growing East Coast–West Coast hip hop feud. On March 9,1997, Wallace was killed by an assailant in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles. Wallace was noted for his loose, easy flow, dark semi-autobiographical lyrics, two more albums have been released since his death. He has certified sales of 17 million units in the United States and his father left the family when Wallace was two years old, and his mother worked two jobs while raising him. Wallace grew up in the Clinton Hill section of Brooklyn on 226 St. James Place near the border of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, at Queen of All Saints Middle School, Wallace excelled in class, winning several awards as an English student. He was nicknamed Big because of his size by age 10. He said he started dealing drugs when he was around the age of 12 and his mother, often away at work, did not know of her sons drug dealing until Wallace was an adult. According to his mother, Wallace was still a good student, at age seventeen, Wallace dropped out of school and became further involved in crime. In 1989, he was arrested on charges in Brooklyn. In 1990, he was arrested on a violation of his probation, a year later, Wallace was arrested in North Carolina for dealing crack cocaine. He spent nine months in jail before making bail, Wallace began rapping when he was a teenager. He entertained people on the streets and performed with groups the Old Gold Brothers. The tape was made with no serious intent of getting a recording deal. However, it was promoted by New York-based DJ Mister Cee, who had worked with Big Daddy Kane. In March 1992, Wallace was featured in The Sources Unsigned Hype column, dedicated to aspiring rappers, the demo tape was heard by Uptown Records A&R and record producer Sean Combs, who arranged for a meeting with Wallace

2.
The Hit Factory
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The Hit Factory was a recording studio in New York City famous for its clientele. It closed on April 1,2005, the building is now the headquarters of Music Theatre International. However, other Hit Factory studio locations remained open, such as in Miami, the New York facility was purchased from Jerry Ragovoy by Edward Germano on March 6,1975. From 1989 to 1993, the company also operated The Hit Factory London, after Germanos death in 2003, the business was taken over by his wife Janice Germano. Hit Factory was closed on April 1,2005, the last album to be recorded there was Octavarium by Dream Theater. The business base of operations moved to the remaining Hit Factory Criteria Miami in March 2005, in a statement, The Hit Factory acknowledged the industry is moving away from large-scale studios to destination locations like Miami that offer sunny weather and a hot nightlife. In December 2006 Stribling and Assocs, a New York real-estate broker, twenty-seven loft-style apartments went on sale, including six duplexes. Prices started at about $1 million, the developers have said that there will continue to be rehearsal space for musicians on the ground floor. In 2011, New York Knicks basketball player Carmelo Anthony and his wife, entertainer La La Vazquez, the studios occupied several spaces in and around Times Square and Midtown West after Germanos purchase. Locations included Hit Factory Times Square at 130 West 42nd Street, Hit Factory Broadway, at 237 West 54th Street, the Hit Factory Broadway, located between Broadway and Eighth Avenue, was a four-studio complex that housed a mix of Solid State Logic and Neve VR-series consoles. The Hit Factory Mastering facility at 421 West 54th street was opened in 1992 and all moved there. To avoid confusion, studio names at the new location were given instead of the more-traditional letters. The Hit Factory Broadway closed in early 2002, as new studios were planned in the main Hit Factory Mastering facility, the main studio facility at 421 West 54th Street occupied most of a 100, 000+ square foot building. Studio 1 occupied the top floor of the building and included four overdub booths. The control room was equipped with an 80-input Solid State Logic 9000J as the centerpiece, the lounge was also a flexible space, with room for a large orchestra or cast party, coat room, green room, office, production room, gym and several storage areas. On July 24,2002, it opened Studios 6 and 7, each studio contained a 48-channel Pro Tools MIXPlus system, a Sony 3348 HR, two Studer A827s, Lexicon 960L and 480L reverbs, and outboard racks tailored for surround mixing. Studio 7 was designed as a room, with a small booth adjacent to the control room. Custom Augspurger monitors featured dual 15-inch TAD drivers, horns and 18-inch hidden stereo subs, studio 6 had a silver color scheme, also with custom Augspurgers and silver credenza ends in the control room, and a circle Hit Factory Studios logo at the back of studio

3.
D&D Studios
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D&D Studios was a hip hop recording studio located in New York City, New York on the west side of 37th street. Artists that had recorded music at the studios included Foxy Brown, nas, Jay Z, Jeru the Damaja, KRS-One, Violadores del Verso, Big L, Joe Budden and Black Moon, among others. Founded by Douglas Grama and David Lotwin, D&D Records, which originated at the studios during the 1990s, released albums by Afu-Ra, other acts on the label included QNC and Mama Mystique. The recording studio managers were Barry Grama, David Carpi Carpenter, singer/songwriter Grayson Hugh recorded much of his 1988 RCA album Blind To Reason there, as well as the song How Bout Us, with singer Betty Wright, for the film True Love. DJ Premier used to host a radio show every Friday night on sirius/xm radio where he would play his hip hop music. The studio was closed on December 31,2014 DITC Ent. label member G. Fisher recorded his debut single Fish Over Premier and EP God MC here as the last project to be recorded in D&D

4.
New York City
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The City of New York, often called New York City or simply New York, is the most populous city in the United States. With an estimated 2015 population of 8,550,405 distributed over an area of about 302.6 square miles. Located at the tip of the state of New York. Home to the headquarters of the United Nations, New York is an important center for international diplomacy and has described as the cultural and financial capital of the world. Situated on one of the worlds largest natural harbors, New York City consists of five boroughs, the five boroughs – Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, The Bronx, and Staten Island – were consolidated into a single city in 1898. In 2013, the MSA produced a gross metropolitan product of nearly US$1.39 trillion, in 2012, the CSA generated a GMP of over US$1.55 trillion. NYCs MSA and CSA GDP are higher than all but 11 and 12 countries, New York City traces its origin to its 1624 founding in Lower Manhattan as a trading post by colonists of the Dutch Republic and was named New Amsterdam in 1626. The city and its surroundings came under English control in 1664 and were renamed New York after King Charles II of England granted the lands to his brother, New York served as the capital of the United States from 1785 until 1790. It has been the countrys largest city since 1790, the Statue of Liberty greeted millions of immigrants as they came to the Americas by ship in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and is a symbol of the United States and its democracy. In the 21st century, New York has emerged as a node of creativity and entrepreneurship, social tolerance. Several sources have ranked New York the most photographed city in the world, the names of many of the citys bridges, tapered skyscrapers, and parks are known around the world. Manhattans real estate market is among the most expensive in the world, Manhattans Chinatown incorporates the highest concentration of Chinese people in the Western Hemisphere, with multiple signature Chinatowns developing across the city. Providing continuous 24/7 service, the New York City Subway is one of the most extensive metro systems worldwide, with 472 stations in operation. Over 120 colleges and universities are located in New York City, including Columbia University, New York University, and Rockefeller University, during the Wisconsinan glaciation, the New York City region was situated at the edge of a large ice sheet over 1,000 feet in depth. The ice sheet scraped away large amounts of soil, leaving the bedrock that serves as the foundation for much of New York City today. Later on, movement of the ice sheet would contribute to the separation of what are now Long Island and Staten Island. The first documented visit by a European was in 1524 by Giovanni da Verrazzano, a Florentine explorer in the service of the French crown and he claimed the area for France and named it Nouvelle Angoulême. Heavy ice kept him from further exploration, and he returned to Spain in August and he proceeded to sail up what the Dutch would name the North River, named first by Hudson as the Mauritius after Maurice, Prince of Orange

5.
East Coast hip hop
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East Coast hip hop is a regional subgenre of hip hop music that originated in the New York City area during the 1970s. In contrast to other styles, East Coast hip hop music has prioritized complex lyrics for attentive listening rather than beats for dancing, the main components of hip hop culture from that time and still today are MCing, DJing, break dancing, and graffiti. In contrast to the rhyme pattern and scheme utilized in old school hip hop. It has also characterized by multi-syllabic rhymes, complex wordplay. East Coast hip hop has a sound and style, it tends to gravitate to aggressive beats. The aggressive and hard-hitting beats of the form were emphasized by such acts as EPMD and Public Enemy, & Rakim, Boogie Down Productions, Big Daddy Kane, Nas, Notorious B. I. G and Slick Rick were noted for their lyrical skill. East coast hip hop is occasionally referred to as New York rap due to its origins, according to AllMusic, At the dawn of the hip-hop era, all rap was East Coast rap. Early artists of the form, including DJ Kool Herc, Grandmaster Flash, Afrika Bambaataa, the Sugarhill Gang, Kurtis Blow, Jam Master Jay, pioneered East Coast hip hop during hip hops development. New York-based groups such as De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, later in 1992, Dr. Dres G-Funk record The Chronic would introduce West Coast hip hop to the mainstream. Along with an ability to retain its primary function as party music. Although G-Funk was the most popular variety of hip hop during the early 1990s, during this period, several New York City rappers rising from the local underground scene, began releasing noteworthy albums in the early and mid nineties. Black Moons 1993 debut, Enta Da Stage, was one of the first major recordings to emerge from New Yorks hardcore hip hop scene. The album has been credited with helping spark trends that would come to characterize this period in East Coast hip hop. The Notorious B. I. G. became the figure in East Coast hip hop during most of the 1990s. His success on the charts and rise to the mainstream drew more attention to New York at the time of West Coast hip hops dominance. His commercial success helped pave the way for the success of other East Coast rappers such as Jay-Z, many hip hop aficionados look favorably upon this period as a time of creative growth and influential recordings, describing it as The East Coast Renaissance. Music writer May Blaize of MVRemix Urban comments on the nostalgia felt among hip hop fans for records released during this time, wu-Tang brought the ruckus with 36 Chambers. The world was ours when Nas released Illmatic, Big L, the MVP, came out with Lifestylez ov da Poor and Dangerous

6.
Gangsta rap
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Gangsta rap or gangster rap is a subgenre of hip hop music with themes and lyrics that generally emphasize the gangsta lifestyle. After the national attention that Ice-T and N. W. A attracted in the late 1980s and early 1990s, gangsta rap became the most commercially lucrative subgenre of hip hop. Many gangsta rap artists openly boast of their associations with various street gangs as part of their artistic image, with the Bloods. Gangsta rap is closely related to other indigenous gang and crime-oriented forms of music, the subject matter inherent in gangsta rap has caused a great deal of controversy. The White House administrations of both George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton criticized the genre, many gangsta rappers argue that in the world of their genre exists the emotions and perspectives of a people whose suffering is too often overlooked and belittled by society. Gangsta rap, some argue, was an effect of the various wrongdoings perpetrated against African-Americans in underprivileged neighborhoods. The various riots sparked by the Rodney King beating and the acquittal of the officers responsible for the beating sparked anger. Gangsta rap acted as an outlet so such people could express themselves angrily and they often used gangsta rap to tell the stories of their lives, which sometimes included strong violence, hypersexuality, and drug abuse. The 1973 album Hustlers Convention by Lightnin Rod and Jaren Clark featured lyrics that deal with life, including pimping. Many rappers, such as Ice-T and Mac Dre, have credited pimp, rudy Ray Moores stand-up comedy and films based on his Dolemite hustler-pimp alter ego also influenced gangsta rap and are still a popular source for samples. Finally, blaxploitation films of the 1970s, with their depictions of black underworld figures, were a major inspiration as well. Tracy Ice-T Morrow, was born in Newark, New Jersey, as a teenager, he moved to Los Angeles where he rose to prominence in the West Coast hip hop scene. In 1986, Ice-T released 6 in the Mornin, which is regarded as among the first gangsta rap songs. In an interview with PROPS magazine, Ice-T said, Heres the exact order of what really went down. Then the syncopation of that rap was used by me when I made 6 in the Mornin, the vocal delivery was the same. P. S. K. is makin that green. six in the morning, police at my door. When I heard that record I was like Oh @#. *%, and call it a bite or what you will but I dug that record. My record didnt sound like P. S. K, but I liked the way he was flowing with it. P. S. K. was talking about Park Side Killers and that was the only difference, when Schoolly did it, it was. one by one, Im knockin em out

7.
Bad Boy Records
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Bad Boy Entertainment is an American record label founded in 1993 by Sean Combs. Today, it operates as an imprint of Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment, after his climb from a non-paying internship to becoming an A&R executive at Uptown Records, Sean Puff Daddy Combs was fired in 1993 by Andre Harrell. Combs soon founded Bad Boy Records in 1993, the label’s first release was Flava In Ya Ear by Craig Mack, followed quickly by Macks debut album, Project, Funk Da World in 1994. On the heels of these releases came Juicy and Ready to Die, while Macks album went gold, Ready to Die achieved multi-platinum success. Dominating the charts in 1995, B. I. G. became one of the genre’s biggest names of the day, also in 1995, the label continued its success with platinum releases by Total and Faith Evans. The rapid success of Notorious B. I. G. and Bad Boy as a company, raised some tensions, for two years leading up to 1995, West Coast hip hop, dominated by Death Row, had been preeminent in mainstream rap music. Suge Knight, CEO of Death Row Records, held Combs responsible for the death of his friend Jake Robles. After the June 1996 release of Hit Em Up, smearing Bad Boy, Tupac was shot in Las Vegas on September 7,1996 soon after attending the Mike Tyson-Bruce Seldon boxing match at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino. Tupac was pronounced dead on September 13, Bad Boy Records issued a statement of condolences. On March 9,1997, while Bad Boy were preparing the release of Biggies double album Life After Death, he was shot, the deaths of Biggie and Tupac left many to speculate if the coastal hostility had been responsible for their murders. The police investigations were criticized by public and judicial sources, posthumously, Biggie’s Life After Death reached number one on the Billboard Top 200. Its first two singles, Hypnotize and Mo Money, Mo Problems also topped the singles charts, the album eventually sold over 10 million copies in the United States alone, and is one of the highest selling rap albums ever in the U. S. In 1996, Puff Daddy had begun recording his own debut album. The first single, Cant Nobody Hold Me Down, peaked at one on the rap, R&B. In response to Biggie’s death, the label rush-released a Puff Daddy tribute song, Ill Be Missing You, which featured Biggies widow, Faith Evans, and Bad Boys R&B singing group 112. The single topped the charts for weeks and became the hasty second single from Combs’ album, No Way Out. Mase, Combs’ newest protégé, in the meantime was immediately thrust into the void that Biggie left and his own debut album, Harlem World, also released the same year, would go 4x platinum. Due to the successes of Life After Death, No Way Out and Harlem World, by the end of 1997, Bad Boy as a label

8.
Arista Records
–
/ˈɛ. rɪ. stə/ was a major American record label. It was a wholly owned unit of Sony Music Entertainment and was handled by Bertelsmann Music Group. The company operated under the RCA Music Group until 2011, the label was founded in 1974 by Clive Davis, who formerly worked for CBS Records. Until its demise in 2011, it was a distributor and promoter of albums throughout the United States. Today, the labels reissues and catalogue releases are handled by RCA Records, after being fired from CBS Records, Clive Davis was hired by Columbia Pictures in June 1974 to be a consultant for the companys record and music operations. The label was named Arista after New York Citys secondary school honor society, in early 1975, most of the artists who had been signed to Bell were let go, except David Cassidy, Tony Orlando and Dawn, and the 5th Dimension. Others, such as Suzi Quatro and Hot Chocolate, were farmed out to the Bell/Arista-distributed label, several Bell acts, such as Barry Manilow, the Bay City Rollers, and Melissa Manchester moved to Arista. The British Bell label kept that name for a couple of years before changing its name to Arista, the label was immortalized in the 1978 Rockpile song They Called It Rock, in the lyric, Arista says they love you/But the kids cant dance to this. In addition to Manilow, the Kinks, and Dionne Warwick, Arista signed Aretha Franklin in 1980, the labels most significant acquisition came in 1983 when Davis signed Warwicks cousin, Whitney Houston. Houston would eventually become Aristas biggest-selling recording artist, with sales of 200 million records worldwide, Arista had an imprint label in the 1970s called Arista Novus, which focused on contemporary jazz artists. A country music division, Career Records, was merged into the Arista Nashville division in 1997, Arista Austin was used in the late 1990s as a country label. Additionally, Arista was the North American distributor of Jive Records from 1981 until 1987, during the 1990s, Arista also distributed Logic, Rowdy and Heavenly Recordings. Looking to stave off bankruptcy, Columbia Pictures sold Arista to German-based Ariola Records in 1979, after Ariola purchased General Electrics RCA Records in 1986, the combined company was renamed Bertelsmann Music Group, though Aristas U. S. releases would not note BMG until 1987. Into the 1980s, Arista continued its success, including major UK act Secret Affair, over the years it acquired Northwestside Records, deConstruction Records, First Avenue Records, and Dedicated Records in the UK. In 1989, Arista entered into a joint venture with Antonio L. A. Reid and Babyface in the creation of LaFace Records record company of TLC, in 1993, Arista also entered into a joint-venture with Sean P. Diddy Combs to form Bad Boy Records. In 1997 Arista acquired Profile Records, the home of Run-D. M. C. in 1989, Arista signed Milli Vanilli, a duo consisting of Rob Pilatus and Fab Morvan that was based in Germany. The label released its album, Girl You Know Its True, which was a remixed and re-edited version of All or Nothing. The album was certified platinum in the U. S. and charted five top-ten singles

9.
Record producer
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A record producer or music producer oversees and manages the sound recording and production of a band or performers music, which may range from recording one song to recording a lengthy concept album. A producer has many roles during the recording process, the roles of a producer vary. The producer may perform these roles himself, or help select the engineer, the producer may also pay session musicians and engineers and ensure that the entire project is completed within the record companies budget. A record producer or music producer has a broad role in overseeing and managing the recording. Producers also often take on an entrepreneurial role, with responsibility for the budget, schedules, contracts. In the 2010s, the industry has two kinds of producers with different roles, executive producer and music producer. Executive producers oversee project finances while music producers oversee the process of recording songs or albums. In most cases the producer is also a competent arranger, composer. The producer will also liaise with the engineer who concentrates on the technical aspects of recording. Noted producer Phil Ek described his role as the person who creatively guides or directs the process of making a record, indeed, in Bollywood music, the designation actually is music director. The music producers job is to create, shape, and mold a piece of music, at the beginning of record industry, producer role was technically limited to record, in one shot, artists performing live. The role of producers changed progressively over the 1950s and 1960s due to technological developments, the development of multitrack recording caused a major change in the recording process. Before multitracking, all the elements of a song had to be performed simultaneously, all of these singers and musicians had to be assembled in a large studio and the performance had to be recorded. As well, for a song that used 20 instruments, it was no longer necessary to get all the players in the studio at the same time. Examples include the rock sound effects of the 1960s, e. g. playing back the sound of recorded instruments backwards or clanging the tape to produce unique sound effects. These new instruments were electric or electronic, and thus they used instrument amplifiers, new technologies like multitracking changed the goal of recording, A producer could blend together multiple takes and edit together different sections to create the desired sound. For example, in jazz fusion Bandleader-composer Miles Davis album Bitches Brew, producers like Phil Spector and George Martin were soon creating recordings that were, in practical terms, almost impossible to realise in live performance. Producers became creative figures in the studio, other examples of such engineers includes Joe Meek, Teo Macero, Brian Wilson, and Biddu

10.
Sean "Puffy" Combs
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Sean John Combs, also known by his stage names Puff Daddy, Puffy, P. Diddy and Diddy, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, actor, record producer and entrepreneur. He was born in Harlem and was raised in Mount Vernon and he worked as a talent director at Uptown Records before founding his label Bad Boy Entertainment in 1993. His debut album No Way Out has been certified seven times platinum and was followed by successful albums such as Forever, The Saga Continues. in 2009 Combs formed the musical group Diddy – Dirty Money and released the critically well-reviewed and commercially successful album Last Train to Paris. Combs has won three Grammy Awards and two MTV Video Music Awards, and is the producer of MTVs Making the Band, in 2016 Forbes estimated Combs net worth at $750 million. Sean John Combs was born on November 4,1969 in Harlem in Manhattan, New York City, and was raised in Mount Vernon, New York. His mother, Janice, was a model and teachers assistant and his father, at age 33, Melvin was shot to death while sitting in his car on Central Park West, when Combs was 2 years old. Combs graduated from the Roman Catholic Mount Saint Michael Academy in 1987 and he played football for the academy, and his team won a division title in 1986. Combs said that he was given the nickname Puff as a child, after dropping out of Howard University in 1990, after two years as a business major, Combs became an intern at New Yorks Uptown Records. While talent director at Uptown, he helped develop Jodeci and Mary J. Blige, in his college days Combs had a reputation for throwing parties, some of which attracted up to a thousand participants. In 1991, Combs promoted an AIDS fundraiser with Heavy D held at the City College of New York gymnasium, the event was oversold, and a stampede occurred in which nine people died. In 1993, after being fired from Uptown, Combs established his new label Bad Boy Entertainment as a joint venture with Arista Records, taking then-newcomer The Notorious B. I. G. with him. Both The Notorious B. I. G. and Craig Mack quickly released hit singles, followed by successful LPs, Combs signed more acts to Bad Boy, including Carl Thomas, Faith Evans,112, Total, and Father MC. The Hitmen, his production team, worked with Jodeci, Mary J. Blige, Usher, Lil Kim, TLC, Mariah Carey, Boyz II Men, SWV, Aretha Franklin. Mase and The Lox joined Bad Boy just as a widely publicized rivalry with the West Coasts Death Row Records was beginning, Combs and The Notorious B. I. G. were criticized and parodied by Tupac Shakur and Suge Knight in songs and interviews during the mid-1990s. During 1994–1995, Combs produced several songs for TLCs CrazySexyCool, which finished the decade as number 25 on Billboards list of top pop albums of the decade, in 1997, under the name Puff Daddy, Combs recorded his first commercial vocal work as a rapper. His debut single, Cant Nobody Hold Me Down, spent 28 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and his debut album, No Way Out, was released on July 1,1997, through Bad Boy Records. Originally titled Hell up in Harlem, the album underwent several changes after The Notorious B. I. G. was killed on March 9,1997, several of the labels artists made guest appearances on the album. No Way Out was a significant success, particularly in the United States, four other singles, Cant Nobody Hold Me Down, Its All About the Benjamins, Been Around the World, and Victory, were also released

11.
DJ Premier
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For its 20th-anniversary issue in 2008, The Source selected DJ Premier for its list of the 20 greatest producers in the magazines history. He also made the finals in Vibe magazines 2010 search for the greatest hip hop producer of all time—he finished second after Dr. Dre received 62 percent of the votes. DJ Premier hosts a weekly show, Live From HeadQCourterz. DJ Premier served as one of the three curators for the soundtrack to the video game NBA 2K16, alongside DJ Khaled and DJ Mustard. DJ Premier was born in Houston, Texas, and was raised in Prairie View, Texas, before moving to Brooklyn, New York. He attended Prairie View A&M University, where he honed his skills as the campus DJ. Premier is known for producing all of Gang Starrs songs as well as many of those composed by the Gang Starr Foundation, AZ, Big L, Big Daddy Kane, Bun B, Canibus, Common, DAngelo, D. I. T. C. Dr. Dre, Game, Joey Bada$$, KRS-One, Lord Finesse, Ludacris, mos Def, Nas, Papoose, Rakim, Royce da 59, Snoop Dogg, The LOX, The Notorious B. I. G. Vinnie Paz, Ill Bill, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Immortal Technique, Xzibit, nu metal band Limp Bizkit and Busta Rhymes. Premier collaborated with MC Jeru the Damaja on the album The Sun Rises in the East, released in 1994, as well as the 1996 follow-up, Wrath of the Math. Premier produced and supervised Livin Proof by Group Home, also from the Gang Starr Foundation, although overlooked at the time of its 1995 release, in 2006, pop/R&B singer Christina Aguilera recruited Premier to produce her album Back to Basics. Premier explained the reservations he heard from people regarding the collaboration, When Christina had me work with her, people were like, Oh no. Then when they heard Ain’t No Other Man, Back In The Day, I was worried, but you totally sound like what we love about you. Until you hear it, don’t say a word, I never want to be just attached to hip hop. I want to be attached to music – country, rap, soul, jazz, blues, it doesn’t matter, in 2008, appear in Grand Theft Auto IV as himself radio station The Classics 104.1. Premier produced the majority of Blaq Poets Tha Blaqprint, which was released in mid-2009, Premier contributed a song on Games 2011 album, The R. E. D. Also in 2011, Premier appeared on the song Gangster, on Bushidos album Jenseits von Gut und Böse, Premier was one of the artists followed in the 2012 documentary, Re, GENERATION. The film followed his production of the song Regeneration, for which he used a performance of his work by the Berklee Symphony Orchestra

12.
Lord Finesse
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Lord Finesse is a hip-hop artist and producer, from The Bronx, New York, best known as the leader of the D. I. T. C. About. com ranked him number 29 on its list of the Top-50 Hip-Hop Producers. In 1989, Finesse and his former partner DJ Mike Smooth signed with Wild Pitch Records, home of popular hip hop artists such as Gang Starr, Main Source, Chill Rob G. In 1990, the duo released their debut album Funky Technician, the album featured production from future star beat-makers DJ Premier, Diamond D and Showbiz. Soon after, Finesse formed the popular New York underground crew D. I. T. C, an acronym for Diggin In The Crates, together with Showbiz & A. G. and Diamond D. Future members included Fat Joe, O. C, buckwild, and Big L. Finesse returned as a solo artist in early 1992 with his second effort, Return of the Funky Man. The album featured guest appearances from Percee P and AG, the albums title track peaked at number 13 on the Hot Rap Singles chart. Return of the Funky Man also included a couple of songs that were produced by Finesse himself, in 1994 Finesse made a production appearance on The Notorious B. I. G. s classic debut Ready to Die, on the track Suicidal Thoughts. In 1995, he produced a big portion of Big Ls debut album Lifestylez Ov Da Poor & Dangerous, including the single M. V. P. and made an appearance on one of the albums highlight songs Da Graveyard. He returned as an artist in 1996 with the now rare 12 single Check The Method and then the acclaimed album The Awakening. Finesse produced the album himself, and enlisted a large number of guests, including KRS-One, MC Lyte, Akinyele, Diamond D, Showbiz & A. G. O. C. The underground single Actual Facts featuring Sadat X, Large Professor, Finesse hasnt released a studio album since this effort, but has continued his production work. In 1997, he produced the track to O. C. s acclaimed effort Jewelz. Finesse released a mixtape called Diggin On Blue in 1999, later in the year, he produced the track The Message on Dr. Dres seminal 2001 album. Finesse is currently working on a Funky Technician remix project, as well as a new D. I. T. C, along with these projects, he and DJ Premier are working on a posthumous Big L album. In 1998, Finesse provided the vocal sample on the hook to The Rockafeller Skank, the song features Finesses repeated line Right about now, the funk soul brother. Check it out now, the funk soul brother, Lord Finesse returned to the mic on Handsome Boy Modeling Schools album White People in 2004. He was featured on the song entitled Rock N Roll pt,2, collaborating with famous old-school DJs Grand Wizard Theodore and Jazzy Jay

13.
Life After Death
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The afterlife is the concept of a realm, or the realm itself, in which an essential part of an individuals identity or consciousness continues to exist after the death of the body. Belief in an afterlife, which may be naturalistic or supernatural, is in contrast to the belief in oblivion after death, in this latter view, such rebirths and deaths may take place over and over again continuously until the individual gains entry to a spiritual realm or Otherworld. Major views on the afterlife derive from religion, esotericism and metaphysics, in metaphysical models, theists generally believe some type of afterlife awaits people when they die. Members of some generally non-theistic religions, tend to believe in an afterlife, the Sadducees were an ancient Jewish sect that generally believed that there was a God but no afterlife. Reincarnation refers to a concept found among Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs, Rosicrucians, Theosophists, Spiritists. Reincarnation is also a belief described in Kabbalistic Judaism as gilgul neshamot and this succession leads toward an eventual liberation. One consequence of reincarnationist beliefs is that our current lives are both afterlife and a beforelife, according to those beliefs events in our current life are consequences of actions taken in previous lives, or Karma. In most denominations, heaven is a condition of reward for the righteous to go after they die, traditionally defined as eternal union with God. In contrast to heaven, hell is a condition of punishment and torment for the wicked, traditionally defined as eternal separation from God and confinement with other sinful souls and fallen angels. So they are seen as existing in a state of natural. In other Christian denominations it has described as an intermediate place or state of confinement in oblivion. The notion of purgatory is associated particularly with the Catholic Church, the tradition of the church, by reference to certain texts of scripture, speaks of a cleansing fire although it is not always called purgatory. Anglicans of the Anglo-Catholic tradition generally also hold to the belief, traditional African religions are diverse in their beliefs in an afterlife. For each soul remains distinct and each represents a new soul. In some societies like the Mende, multiple beliefs coexist, the Mende believe that people die twice, once during the process of joining the secret society, and again during biological death after which they become ancestors. However, some Mende also believe that people are created by God they live ten consecutive lives. One cross-cultural theme is that the ancestors are part of the world of the living, interacting with it regularly, the afterlife played an important role in Ancient Egyptian religion, and its belief system is one of the earliest known in recorded history. When the body died, parts of its known as ka

14.
Single (music)
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In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a song recording of fewer tracks than an LP record, an album or an EP record. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats, in most cases, a single is a song that is released separately from an album, although it usually also appears on an album. Typically, these are the songs from albums that are released separately for promotional uses such as digital download or commercial radio airplay and are expected to be the most popular, in other cases a recording released as a single may not appear on an album. As digital downloading and audio streaming have become prevalent, it is often possible for every track on an album to also be available separately. Nevertheless, the concept of a single for an album has been retained as an identification of a heavily promoted or more popular song within an album collection. Despite being referred to as a single, singles can include up to as many as three tracks on them. The biggest digital music distributor, iTunes, accepts as many as three tracks less than ten minutes each as a single, as well as popular music player Spotify also following in this trend. Any more than three tracks on a release or longer than thirty minutes in total running time is either an Extended Play or if over six tracks long. The basic specifications of the single were made in the late 19th century. Gramophone discs were manufactured with a range of speeds and in several sizes. By about 1910, however, the 10-inch,78 rpm shellac disc had become the most commonly used format, the inherent technical limitations of the gramophone disc defined the standard format for commercial recordings in the early 20th century.26 rpm. With these factors applied to the 10-inch format, songwriters and performers increasingly tailored their output to fit the new medium, the breakthrough came with Bob Dylans Like a Rolling Stone. Singles have been issued in various formats, including 7-inch, 10-inch, other, less common, formats include singles on digital compact cassette, DVD, and LD, as well as many non-standard sizes of vinyl disc. Some artist release singles on records, a more common in musical subcultures. The most common form of the single is the 45 or 7-inch. The names are derived from its speed,45 rpm. The 7-inch 45 rpm record was released 31 March 1949 by RCA Victor as a smaller, more durable, the first 45 rpm records were monaural, with recordings on both sides of the disc. As stereo recordings became popular in the 1960s, almost all 45 rpm records were produced in stereo by the early 1970s

15.
Juicy (The Notorious B.I.G. song)
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Juicy is the debut single by American hip hop artist The Notorious B. I. G. and his first single from his 1994 debut album Ready to Die. It was produced by Poke of Trackmasters & Sean Puffy Combs and it contains a sample of Mtumes Juicy Fruit, but is directly sampled from the songs Fruity Instrumental mix, and has an alternative chorus sung by girl group Total. The song is considered by Rolling Stone, The Source and About. com as one of the greatest hip hop songs of all time, the song has sold over 607,000 copies. Producer Pete Rock alleged that Puffy stole the idea for the songs beat after hearing it from him during a visit. Rock explained this in an interview with Wax Poetics, I did the original version and they came to my house, heard the beat going on the drum machine, its the same story. You come downstairs at my crib, you hear music and he heard that shit and the next thing you know it comes out. They had me do a remix, but I tell people, and I will fight it to the end, im not mad at anybody, I just want the correct credit. Rocks remix for Juicy uses the sample as the original. Blender Magazine ranked it #168 on its Top 500 Songs of the 80s-00s list in 2005, bruce Pollock put it on his The 7,500 Most Important Songs of 1944-2000 list in 2005. Ego trip ranked it #1 on its Hip Hops 40 Greatest Singles by Year 1980-98 list in 1999, pitchfork Media ranked the song at #14 on their Top 200 Tracks of the 90s. Pop ranked it #1 on their Singles of the Year list in 1994, Q magazine ranked Juicy the ninth greatest hip hop song of all time. Rolling Stone ranked the song #424 in its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, spex included it on The Best Singles of the Century list in 1999. The Boston Phoenix included it on their The 90 Best Songs of the 90s list in 1999, the Source included it on their The 100 Best Rap Singles of All Time list in 1998. VH1 ranked it #7 on its 100 Greatest Hip Hop Songs Ever, Ready to Die – The Notorious B. I. G. s 1994 debut album Big Phat Ones of Hip Hop, Vol. The song is featured in the track Smash Your Head alongside Elton Johns Tiny Dancer, the Greatest Hits –2007 compilation of The Notorious B. I. G. s greatest hits. Notorious Soundtrack – the soundtrack of Biggies biopic, in Defense of the Genre –2007 album by alternative rock band Say Anything in the track No Soul performed by Anna Waronker. The notorious xx – album remixed by wait what and features the song VCR by The XX with Juicy and this Is The Remix – EP released by Metal Ring and Butterfly that features a remix of the songs first verse. A-side Juicy Unbelievable Juicy B-side Juicy Unbelievable Juicy Juicy Juicy –5,05 Juicy –5,05 Juicy –3,42 Juicy –4,43

16.
Big Poppa
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Big Poppa is a song by American hip hop recording artist The Notorious B. I. G. It was released as the single from his first studio album Ready to Die. It features a sample of the song Between the Sheets written by The Isley Brothers, Big Poppa was also nominated for Best Rap Solo Performance at the 1996 Grammy Awards. It also went on to win at the Billboard Music Awards, the single was certified platinum by the RIAA and sold 800,000 copies domestically. There is a remix released in 1995 featuring Jermaine Dupri, called Big Poppa. This remix appeared as a single, the title is based on one of The Notorious B. I. G. s many nicknames. The line I love it when you call me Big Poppa is sampled from his verse from the Super Cat song Dolly My Baby, the song makes a reference to original Bad Boy artist Craig Mack. The song was used in the 2001 film Hardball multiple times, the song was mentioned in 2008 film, Madea Goes To Jail, as well as being used for the party scene in 2007s Superbad. The song was used by The LOXs Well Always Love Big Poppa as a tribute to B. I. G. who was killed in 1997 as the track from Money. Omarion sampled the lyrics in his song Lets Talk, the song was released in Maybach Music Group album, Self Made Vol.2. A Spanish version of the chorus was used in a Taco Bell commercial called Grande Papi, the American comedy film Paul Blart, Mall Cop 2 used the song in its second trailer. Will Ferrell performed a version of the song while portraying Robert Goulet in an episode of Saturday Night Live. The metalcore band A Plea For Purging covered the song as a stand alone single, a1 Big Poppa A2 Warning A3 Big Poppa B1 Big Poppa B2 Warning B3 Warning B4 Who Shot Ya. Big Poppa Big Poppa Who Shot Ya, Big Poppa Big Poppa Big Poppa Who Shot Ya

17.
Studio album
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Album, is a collection of audio recordings issued as a single item on CD, record, audio tape, or another medium. Albums of recorded music were developed in the early 20th century, first as books of individual 78rpm records, vinyl LPs are still issued, though in the 21st century album sales have mostly focused on compact disc and MP3 formats. The audio cassette was a format used from the late 1970s through to the 1990s alongside vinyl, an album may be recorded in a recording studio, in a concert venue, at home, in the field, or a mix of places. Recording may take a few hours to years to complete, usually in several takes with different parts recorded separately. Recordings that are done in one take without overdubbing are termed live, the majority of studio recordings contain an abundance of editing, sound effects, voice adjustments, etc. With modern recording technology, musicians can be recorded in separate rooms or at times while listening to the other parts using headphones. Album covers and liner notes are used, and sometimes additional information is provided, such as analysis of the recording, historically, the term album was applied to a collection of various items housed in a book format. In musical usage the word was used for collections of pieces of printed music from the early nineteenth century. Later, collections of related 78rpm records were bundled in book-like albums, the LP record, or 33 1⁄3 rpm microgroove vinyl record, is a gramophone record format introduced by Columbia Records in 1948. It was adopted by the industry as a standard format for the album. Apart from relatively minor refinements and the important later addition of stereophonic sound capability, the term album had been carried forward from the early nineteenth century when it had been used for collections of short pieces of music. Later, collections of related 78rpm records were bundled in book-like albums, as part of a trend of shifting sales in the music industry, some commenters have declared that the early 21st century experienced the death of the album. Sometimes shorter albums are referred to as mini-albums or EPs, Albums such as Tubular Bells, Amarok, Hergest Ridge by Mike Oldfield, and Yess Close to the Edge, include fewer than four tracks. There are no rules against artists such as Pinhead Gunpowder referring to their own releases under thirty minutes as albums. These are known as box sets, material is stored on an album in sections termed tracks, normally 11 or 12 tracks. A music track is a song or instrumental recording. The term is associated with popular music where separate tracks are known as album tracks. When vinyl records were the medium for audio recordings a track could be identified visually from the grooves

18.
Rapper
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The components of rapping include content, flow, and delivery. Rap differs from spoken-word poetry in that rap is performed in time to a beat. Rapping is often associated with and an ingredient of hip-hop music. Rapping is also used in Kwaito music, a genre originated in Johannesburg, South Africa. Another form of rap that predates hip hop was boxer Muhammad Alis rhythmic poetry used to taunt his opponents in the 1960s and 1970s, rapping can be delivered over a beat, typically provided by a DJ, turntablist or Beatboxer, or without accompaniment. Stylistically, rap occupies an area between speech, prose, poetry, and singing. The word, as used to describe quick speech or repartee, the word had been used in British English since the 16th century. It was part of the African American dialect of English in the 1960s meaning to converse, today, the terms rap and rapping are so closely associated with hip-hop music that many writers use the terms interchangeably. The English verb rap has various meanings, such as to strike, especially with a quick, smart, or light blow, as well to utter sharply or vigorously, to rap out a command. The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary gives a date of 1541 for the first recorded use of the word with the meaning to utter sharply, vigorously and it is these meanings from which the musical form of rapping derives, and this definition may be from a shortening of repartee. A rapper refers to a performer who raps, by the late 1960s, when Hubert G. Brown changed his name to H. Rap was used to describe talking on records as early as 1971, on Isaac Hayes album Black Moses with track names such as Ikes Rap, Ikes Rap II, Ikes Rap III, Hayes husky-voiced sexy spoken raps became key components in his signature sound. Del the Funky Homosapien similarly states that rap was used to refer to talking in a manner in the early 1970s. Back then what rapping meant, basically, was you trying to convey something—youre trying to convince somebody, thats what rapping is, its in the way you talk. Rapping can be traced back to its African roots, centuries before hip-hop music existed, the griots of West Africa were delivering stories rhythmically, over drums and sparse instrumentation. Such connections have been acknowledged by modern artists, modern day griots, spoken word artists, mainstream news sources. Grammy-winning blues musician/historian Elijah Wald and others have argued that the blues were being rapped as early as the 1920s, Wald went so far as to call hip hop the living blues. A notable recorded example of rapping in blues music was the 1950 song Gotta Let You Go by Joe Hill Louis, not just jazz music and lyrics but also jazz poetry

19.
Sean Combs
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Sean John Combs, also known by his stage names Puff Daddy, Puffy, P. Diddy and Diddy, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, actor, record producer and entrepreneur. He was born in Harlem and was raised in Mount Vernon and he worked as a talent director at Uptown Records before founding his label Bad Boy Entertainment in 1993. His debut album No Way Out has been certified seven times platinum and was followed by successful albums such as Forever, The Saga Continues. in 2009 Combs formed the musical group Diddy – Dirty Money and released the critically well-reviewed and commercially successful album Last Train to Paris. Combs has won three Grammy Awards and two MTV Video Music Awards, and is the producer of MTVs Making the Band, in 2016 Forbes estimated Combs net worth at $750 million. Sean John Combs was born on November 4,1969 in Harlem in Manhattan, New York City, and was raised in Mount Vernon, New York. His mother, Janice, was a model and teachers assistant and his father, at age 33, Melvin was shot to death while sitting in his car on Central Park West, when Combs was 2 years old. Combs graduated from the Roman Catholic Mount Saint Michael Academy in 1987 and he played football for the academy, and his team won a division title in 1986. Combs said that he was given the nickname Puff as a child, after dropping out of Howard University in 1990, after two years as a business major, Combs became an intern at New Yorks Uptown Records. While talent director at Uptown, he helped develop Jodeci and Mary J. Blige, in his college days Combs had a reputation for throwing parties, some of which attracted up to a thousand participants. In 1991, Combs promoted an AIDS fundraiser with Heavy D held at the City College of New York gymnasium, the event was oversold, and a stampede occurred in which nine people died. In 1993, after being fired from Uptown, Combs established his new label Bad Boy Entertainment as a joint venture with Arista Records, taking then-newcomer The Notorious B. I. G. with him. Both The Notorious B. I. G. and Craig Mack quickly released hit singles, followed by successful LPs, Combs signed more acts to Bad Boy, including Carl Thomas, Faith Evans,112, Total, and Father MC. The Hitmen, his production team, worked with Jodeci, Mary J. Blige, Usher, Lil Kim, TLC, Mariah Carey, Boyz II Men, SWV, Aretha Franklin. Mase and The Lox joined Bad Boy just as a widely publicized rivalry with the West Coasts Death Row Records was beginning, Combs and The Notorious B. I. G. were criticized and parodied by Tupac Shakur and Suge Knight in songs and interviews during the mid-1990s. During 1994–1995, Combs produced several songs for TLCs CrazySexyCool, which finished the decade as number 25 on Billboards list of top pop albums of the decade, in 1997, under the name Puff Daddy, Combs recorded his first commercial vocal work as a rapper. His debut single, Cant Nobody Hold Me Down, spent 28 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and his debut album, No Way Out, was released on July 1,1997, through Bad Boy Records. Originally titled Hell up in Harlem, the album underwent several changes after The Notorious B. I. G. was killed on March 9,1997, several of the labels artists made guest appearances on the album. No Way Out was a significant success, particularly in the United States, four other singles, Cant Nobody Hold Me Down, Its All About the Benjamins, Been Around the World, and Victory, were also released

20.
Recording Industry Association of America
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The Recording Industry Association of America is a continental North and South American trade organization that represents the recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors, which the RIAA says create, the RIAA headquarters is in Washington, D. C. The RIAA was formed in 1952 and its original mission was to administer recording copyright fees and problems, work with trade unions, and do research relating to the record industry and government regulations. Early RIAA standards included the RIAA equalization curve, the format of the record groove and the dimensions of 33 1/3 rpm,45 rpm. Since 2001, the RIAA has spent $2 to $6 million each year on lobbying in the United States, the RIAA also participates in the collective rights management of sound recordings, and it is responsible for certifying Gold and Platinum albums and singles in the United States. Cary Sherman has been the RIAAs chairman and CEO since 2011, Sherman joined the RIAA as its general counsel in 1997 and became president of the board of directors in 2001, serving in that position until being made chairman and CEO. Mitch Glazier has been the RIAAs senior executive vice president since 2011 and he served as executive vice president for public policy and industry relations from 2000 to 2011. The past RIAA chairman and CEO is Mitch Bainwol, who served from 2003 to 2011 and he left in 2011 to become president and CEO of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers. The board of directors consists of 26 members of the board, the RIAA operates an award program for albums that sell a large number of copies. The program originally began in 1958, with a Gold Award for singles, the criterion was changed in 1975 to the number of copies sold, with albums selling 500,000 copies awarded the Gold Award. In 1976, a Platinum Award was added for one million sales, the awards are open to both RIAA members and non-members. Since 2000, the RIAA also operates a program for Latin music sales. Currently, a Disco De Oro is awarded for 30,000 units, the RIAA defines Latin music as a type of release with 51% or more of its content recorded in Spanish. In 2006, digital ringtones were added to branch of certification. In the same year, the RIAA introduced the Latin Digital Award for digital recordings in Spanish and this release format includes DVD and VHS releases, and certain live albums and compilation albums. The certification criteria is different from other styles. Gold,50,000 Platinum,100,000 Multi-Platinum,200,000 copies The RIAA opposes unauthorized sharing of its music, studies conducted since the association began its campaign against peer-to-peer file-sharing have concluded that losses incurred per download range from negligible to moderate. The association has commenced high-profile lawsuits against file sharing service providers and it has also commenced a series of lawsuits against individuals suspected of file sharing, notably college students and parents of file sharing children

21.
RIAA certification
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In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Certification is not automatic, for an award to be made, the audit is conducted against net shipments after returns, which includes albums sold directly to retailers and one-stops, direct-to-consumer sales and other outlets. Presently, an American RIAA-certified Gold record is a single or album that has sold 500,000 units, the award was launched in 1958, originally, the requirement for a Gold single was one million units sold and a Gold album represented $1 million in sales. In 1975, the requirement of 500,000 units sold was added for Gold albums. Reflecting growth in sales, the Platinum award was added in 1976 for albums selling one million units. The Multi-Platinum award was introduced in 1984, signifying multiple Platinum levels of albums, in 1989, the sales thresholds for singles were reduced to 500,000 for Gold and 1,000,000 for Platinum, reflecting a decrease in sales of singles. In 1992, RIAA began counting each disc in a set as one unit toward certification. Reflecting additional growth in sales, the Diamond award was instituted in 1999 for albums or singles selling ten million units. Because of these changes in criteria, the sales level associated with a particular award depends on when the award was made, Nielsen SoundScan figures are not used in RIAA certification, the RIAA system predates Nielsen SoundScan and includes sales outlets Nielsen misses. Prior to Nielsen SoundScan, RIAA certification was the only audited and this system has allowed, at times, for record labels to promote an album as Gold or Platinum simply based on large shipments. For instance, in 1978 the Sgt, peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band soundtrack shipped platinum but was a sales bust, with two million returns. Similarly, all four albums by the members of Kiss simultaneously shipped Platinum that same year. A similar discrepancy between shipments and sales was reported with The Lion King soundtrack, multi-disc albums are counted once for each disc within the album if it is over 100 minutes in length or is from the vinyl era. Pink Floyds The Wall and The Beatles White Album, both vinyl-era, are also counted double even though their running times are under the minimum requirement. Since 2000, the RIAA also awards Los Premios de Oro y De Platino to Latin albums which are defined by the RIAA as a type of product that features at least 51% of content in Spanish, the thresholds were 100,000 units and 200,000 units. All Spanish-language albums certified prior to 2008 were updated to match the current certification at the time, la Bomba by Bolivian group Azul Azul is the only single to receive a Latin certification based on shipments before the creation of the Latin digital singles awards in 2013. The Disco de Diamante award was introduced after the RIAA updated the thresholds for Latin certifications in December 20,2013, the Disco de Diamante is awarded to Latin albums that have been certified 10× Platinum. The thresholds were previously 1,000,000 units and 2,000,000 units, when the RIAA changed the certification standards to match retail distribution in August 2006, all Platinum and Multi-Platinum awards for a digital release were withdrawn

22.
West Coast hip hop
–
West Coast hip hop is a hip hop music subgenre that encompasses any artists or music that originates in the West Coast region of the United States. The culture is believed to have been a mutual creation which evolved from interaction between people who identified with elements from their respective coasts. A number of laid the foundations for West Coast hip hop, long before the emergence of West Coast rappers such as DJ Flash & The Rappers Rapp Group, Eazy-E, Ice T. According to geniusrap. com, a cataclysmic event helped give rise to it out West, in 1967, Bud Schulberg founded a creative space entitled Watts Writers Workshop, intended to help the people of the Watts neighborhood and provide a place for them to express themselves freely. Out of this background the Watts Prophets formed, its members having moved to the West Coast from southern states such as Texas and Louisiana. The West Coast hip-hop scene started in earnest in 1978 with the founding of Unique Entertainment, a group influenced by Prince, East Coast hip hop, Kraftwerk, Parliament-Funkadelic and others. In 1984, Uncle Jamms Army released their first single, Dial-a-Freak, and in the same year Egyptian Lover released his On the Nile album, which includes the popular 12 single Egypt Egypt. Another early landmark occurred in 1981, when Duffy Hooks launched the first West Coast rap label, Rappers Rapp Records and its first act was the duo of Disco Daddy and Captain Rapp, whose debut single was Gigolo Rapp or Gigolo Groove. Later, in 1983, Captain Rapp would create the classic West Coast song Bad Times, in the mid-1980s, Mixmaster Spade defined an early form of gangsta rap with his Compton Posse. From this group, Spade mentored future rap stars of the West Coast, including Toddy Tee, in the same period, the Compton-based former locking dancer Alonzo Williams formed World Class Wreckin Cru, which included future N. W. A members Dr. Dre and DJ Yella. Williams also founded Kru-Cut Records and established a studio in the back of his nightclub Eves After Dark. During this period, one of the greatest factors in the spread of West Coast hip-hop was the radio station 1580 KDAY, in 1988, N. W. As landmark album Straight Outta Compton was released. As well as establishing a basis for the popularity of gangsta rap, in particular, the controversial Fuck tha Police and the ensuing censorship attracted substantial media coverage and public attention. Following the dissolution of N. W. A. due to in-fighting, the early 1990s was a period in which hip hop went from strength to strength. Tupac Shakurs debut album 2Pacalypse Now was released in 1991, demonstrating an awareness, with attacks on social injustice, poverty. Shakurs music and philosophy was rooted in various philosophies and approaches, including the Black Panther Party, Black nationalism, egalitarianism, and liberty. Also in 1991, Suge Knight founded Death Row Records using money he had extorted from the pop-rapper Vanilla Ice - the West Coast saw the debut of arguably its most influential and popular rapper. Other Death Row releases such as Snoop Doggy Doggs Doggystyle and 2Pacs All Eyez on Me became huge sellers and were critically acclaimed

23.
Uptown Records
–
Uptown Records was an American record label, founded by Andre Harrell in 1986. It went on to one of the most popular hip-hop and R&B labels of the late 1980s. Featured on the roster were Guy, Heavy D & The Boyz, Jodeci, Mary J. Blige, sure. and Soul for Real amongst others. Founded in 1986 by one half of rap duo, Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde, after securing distribution deal through MCA Records the compilation album, Uptown Is Kickin It was released. Among the artists featured on the album were Heavy D & The Boyz, by 1987, two debut albums by Heavy D and Al B. Would be successful for the young label, Heavy D & The Boyz Living Large would be certified Gold while Al B. Warner Bros distributed Uptown album In Effect Mode would have hit singles. In 1988, Guy featuring group member and producer Teddy Riley released their debut album and this album continued Uptowns hot streak as the album went number one and continued building upon the bubbling New jack swing sound created by Riley. Also in that year, Uptown released the Capitol-distributed album from the Gyrlz Love Me or Leave Me. Continued success followed the label with the release of Heavy D & The Boyz 1989 second album, Big Tyme, tragedy would struck as Heavy D & The Boyz member, Trouble T Roy died that summer due to an accidental fall while out on tour. The spiritual third Heavy D album, Peaceful Journey was dedicated in his honor, by 1990, Sean Puffy Combs had started interning at Uptown and started working with newly signed acts Jodeci, Father MC and Mary J. Blige who had many hit singles on the R&B charts. Around the same time, Harrell was producing the film Strictly Business, Uptown Records was subsequently renamed to Uptown Enterprises. Also in 1992, saw changes in the hip-hop and R&B musical landscape which was changing towards a harder edge sound due to the popularity of gangsta rap, in keeping in step with the changing times, Mary J. Blige released her debut album, Whats the 411. Dubbed the Queen of Hip Hop Soul, the success of her single, You Remind Me. By 1993, Uptown was the leading urban label, in February, Uptown artists Jodeci, Father MC, Mary J. Blige, Christopher Williams and Heavy D performed an acoustic set on MTV Unplugged. Taped at Universal Studios in Los Angeles, California it was called Uptown Unplugged and released as both a video and CD. Jodeci did a cover of Stevie Wonders Lately at the show. It charted at number one on the R&B charts and number four on the Billboard Hot 100

24.
XXL (magazine)
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XXL is an American hip hop magazine, published by Townsquare Media, founded in 1997. In August 1997, Harris Publications released the first issue of XXL and it featured rappers Jay-Z and Master P on a double cover. In December 2006, XXL took over the hip hop producer and DJ magazine Scratch. However Scratch shut down less than a later in September 2007. Other titles with limited runs have been launched under the XXL brand, including Hip-Hop Soul, Eye Candy, XXL has released many other special projects including tour programs, mixtapes and exclusive DVDs. XXL also maintains a website, which provides daily hip hop news. In 2014, Townsquare Media acquired XXL, King and Antenna from Harris Publications, on October 14,2014, Townsquare announced it would continue print publication of XXL. In December 2014 the company reported that the magazine would be published on a quarterly basis, the magazines past editors include Reginald C. Dennis, Sheena Lester, Elliott Wilson and Datwon Thomas, in May 2009, Datwon Thomas resigned from XXL and executive editor Vanessa Satten, who had been with XXL since 1998, was named the new Editor-in-Chief. In November 2008 XXL released XXL Raps Volume 1, which included music from 50 Cent, G-Unit, Common, Jim Jones, on August 20,2013 XXL released its 150th issue, also celebrating its sixteenth anniversary. The issue featured the first solo cover on the magazine from Drake, starting in 2007, XXL also releases its annual Top 10 Freshman list. The issue features the ten picks of who to watch out for, and on the cover of the magazine and showcases new rappers that arent well known, the list has become known to create buzz and is credited for giving many artists their first taste of fame

25.
Illicit drug trade
–
The illegal drug trade is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of drugs that are subject to drug prohibition laws. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of types of drugs through the use of drug prohibition laws. A UN report has stated that the drug trade generated an estimated US$321.6 billion in 2003. With a world GDP of US$36 trillion in the same year, consumption of illegal drugs is widespread globally. Chinese edicts against opium smoking were made in 1729,1796 and 1800, addictive drugs were prohibited in the west in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In the early 19th century, a drug trade in China emerged and as a result. The Chinese government responded by enforcing a ban on the import of opium that led to the First Opium War between the United Kingdom and Qing dynasty China, the United Kingdom won and forced China to allow British merchants to trade opium. Trading in opium was lucrative, and smoking opium had become common in the 19th century, the Second Opium War broke out in 1856, with the British joined this time by the French. In 1868, as a result of the use of opium. Between 1920 and 1933, by the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, the beginning of the 21st century saw a drug use increase in North America and Europe, with a particularly increased demand for marijuana and cocaine. As a result, international organized crime such as the Sinaloa Cartel. Another illicit drug with increased demand in Europe is hashish, Drug trafficking is widely regarded by lawmakers as a serious offense around the world. Penalties often depend on the type of drug, the quantity trafficked, if the drugs are sold to underage people, then the penalties for trafficking may be harsher than in other circumstances. Drug smuggling carries severe penalties in many countries, sentencing may include lengthy periods of incarceration, flogging and even the death penalty. In December 2005, Van Tuong Nguyen, a 25-year-old Australian drug smuggler, was hanged in Singapore after being convicted in March 2004, in 2010, two people were sentenced to death in Malaysia for trafficking 1 kilogram of cannabis into the country. The countries of production and transit are some of the most affected by the drug trade. For example, Ecuador has absorbed up to 300,000 refugees from Colombia who are running from guerrillas, paramilitaries, while some applied for asylum, others are still illegal immigrants. The drugs that pass from Colombia through Ecuador to other parts of South America create economic, Honduras, through which an estimated 79% of cocaine passes on its way to the United States, has the highest murder rate in the world

26.
North Carolina
–
North Carolina is a state in the southeastern region of the United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west, Virginia to the north, North Carolina is the 28th most extensive and the 9th most populous of the U. S. states. The state is divided into 100 counties, the most populous municipality is Charlotte, which is the second largest banking center in the United States after New York City. The state has a range of elevations, from sea level on the coast to 6,684 feet at Mount Mitchell. The climate of the plains is strongly influenced by the Atlantic Ocean. Most of the falls in the humid subtropical climate zone. More than 300 miles from the coast, the western, mountainous part of the state has a highland climate. North Carolina is bordered by South Carolina on the south, Georgia on the southwest, Tennessee on the west, Virginia on the north, the United States Census Bureau places North Carolina in the South Atlantic division of the southern region. So many ships have been lost off Cape Hatteras that the area is known as the Graveyard of the Atlantic, the most famous of these is the Queen Annes Revenge, which went aground in Beaufort Inlet in 1718. The coastal plain transitions to the Piedmont region along the Atlantic Seaboard fall line, the Piedmont region of central North Carolina is the states most populous region, containing the six largest cities in the state by population. It consists of rolling countryside frequently broken by hills or low mountain ridges. The Piedmont ranges from about 300 feet in elevation in the east to about 1,500 feet in the west, the western section of the state is part of the Appalachian Mountain range. Among the subranges of the Appalachians located in the state are the Great Smoky Mountains, Blue Ridge Mountains, the Black Mountains are the highest in the eastern United States, and culminate in Mount Mitchell at 6,684 feet, the highest point east of the Mississippi River. North Carolina has 17 major river basins, the five basins west of the Blue Ridge Mountains flow to the Gulf of Mexico, while the remainder flow to the Atlantic Ocean. Of the 17 basins,11 originate within the state of North Carolina, but only four are contained entirely within the states border – the Cape Fear, the Neuse, the White Oak, and the Tar-Pamlico basin. Elevation above sea level is most responsible for temperature change across the state, the climate is also influenced by the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf Stream, especially in the coastal plain. These influences tend to cause warmer winter temperatures along the coast, the coastal plain averages around 1 inch of snow or ice annually, and in many years, there may be no snow or ice at all. North Carolina experiences severe weather in summer and winter, with summer bringing threat of hurricanes, tropical storms, heavy rain

27.
Bridgeport Music
–
Bridgeport Music is a music publishing company founded in Michigan by Armen Boladian in 1969. It controls the copyrights to recordings by George Clinton and Funkadelic, among others, Bridgeport has sued for sampling infringements in popular music produced by Public Enemy, N. W. A, Jay-Z and The Notorious B. I. G. - a case in which the jury awarded Bridgeport more than $4 million in damages, on May 4,2001 in Bridgeport Music, Inc. v. 11C Music,202 F. R. D. 229, Bridgeport Music filed a lawsuit alleging infringement of its copyrights in several sound recordings and it was seeking declaratory judgement, injunctive relief, and damages in around 500 different claims against approximately 800 defendants. The court decided that these cases should all be tried separately, notable cases include, Bridgeport Music, Inc. v. Dimension Films Bridgeport Music, Inc. v. Smith Bridgeport Music, Inc. v. Universal-Mca Music Publishing, Inc. Still N the Water Publishing Bridgeport Music, Inc. v. Dm Records, Bridgeport Music, Inc. v. Justin Combs Publishing There has been some controversy over the rights of the George Clinton and Funkadelic catalogs. Clinton himself has claimed that the rights to the works were obtained fraudulently. Bridgeport Music, Inc. v. Dimension Films Official Website

28.
Stanford Law School
–
Stanford Law School is a professional graduate school of Stanford University, located in the Silicon Valley near Palo Alto, California. Stanford Law has consistently been regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world, Stanford Law School employs more than 90 full-time and part-time faculty members and enrolls over 550 students who are working toward their Doctor of Jurisprudence degree. Stanford Law also confers four advanced degrees, a Master of Laws, a Master of Studies in Law, a Master of the Science of Law. Each fall, Stanford Law enrolls a J. D. class of approximately 180 students, Stanford also maintains eleven full-time legal clinics, including the nations first and most active Supreme Court litigation clinic, and offers 27 formal joint degree programs. Stanford first offered a curriculum in legal studies in 1893, when the university hired its first two law professors, former U. S. president Benjamin Harrison and Nathan Abbott, Abbott headed the new program and assembled a small faculty over the next few years. In 1900, the department moved from its location in Encina Hall to the northeast side of the Inner Quadrangle. These larger facilities included Stanford’s first law library, beginning to focus more on professional training, the school implemented its first three-year curriculum and became one of 27 charter members of the Association of American Law Schools. In 1901, the school awarded its first professional degree, the Bachelor of Laws, eight years later, Frederic Campbell Woodward became the first dean of the law school, and in 1923, the law school received accreditation from the American Bar Association. In 1924, Stanfords law program officially transitioned into a professional school when it began requiring a bachelors degree for admission. The 1940s and 1950s brought considerable change to the law school, after World War II caused the law schools enrollment to drop to fewer than 30 students, the school quickly expanded once the war ended in 1945. The decision that Stanford should remain a law school with a very limited enrollment emerged during this period. For the third time in its history, the law school relocated in the 1970s, in the 1960s and 1970s, the law school aimed to diversify its student body. Additionally, in 1966, the sought to academically diversify its student body by collaborating with the Stanford Business School to create its first joint-degree program. In 1968, Stanford appointed Thelton Henderson, future judge of the U. S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Henderson expanded minority enrollment from a single student to approximately a fifth of the student body. Stanford Laws commitment to diversity continues today, and The Princeton Review currently ranks Stanford Law as one of the ten best law schools for minority students, earning national recognition in the 1980s and 1990s, the law school embarked on innovating its curriculum. Stanford offered new courses focusing on law and technology, environmental law, intellectual property law, in 1984, the law school launched its first clinical program, the East Palo Alto Community Law Project. By the 21st century, a new focus on interdisciplinary education emerged, in 2009, the law school transitioned from a semester system to a quarter system to align itself with Stanfords other graduate schools. Stanford Law School is known for its student-to-faculty ratio, one of the lowest in the country, the first-year class of approximately 180 students is divided into six smaller sections of 30 students each

The Notorious B.I.G.
–
Christopher George Latore Wallace, better known by his stage names The Notorious B. I. G. Biggie, or Biggie Smalls, was an American rapper and he is consistently ranked as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time. Wallace was raised in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, the following year, Wallace led his childhood friends t

1.
The Notorious B.I.G

2.
Wallace attended the Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School before transferring out at his own request

3.
Wallace married Faith Evans in 1994

4.
Composite sketch of the suspect in the shooting.

The Hit Factory
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The Hit Factory was a recording studio in New York City famous for its clientele. It closed on April 1,2005, the building is now the headquarters of Music Theatre International. However, other Hit Factory studio locations remained open, such as in Miami, the New York facility was purchased from Jerry Ragovoy by Edward Germano on March 6,1975. From

D&D Studios
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D&D Studios was a hip hop recording studio located in New York City, New York on the west side of 37th street. Artists that had recorded music at the studios included Foxy Brown, nas, Jay Z, Jeru the Damaja, KRS-One, Violadores del Verso, Big L, Joe Budden and Black Moon, among others. Founded by Douglas Grama and David Lotwin, D&D Records, which o

1.
Founders, Douglas Grama and David Lotwin (2000)

2.
Dj Premier's Studio at D&D

New York City
–
The City of New York, often called New York City or simply New York, is the most populous city in the United States. With an estimated 2015 population of 8,550,405 distributed over an area of about 302.6 square miles. Located at the tip of the state of New York. Home to the headquarters of the United Nations, New York is an important center for int

1.
Clockwise, from top: Midtown Manhattan, Times Square, the Unisphere in Queens, the Brooklyn Bridge, Lower Manhattan with One World Trade Center, Central Park, the headquarters of the United Nations, and the Statue of Liberty

2.
New Amsterdam, centered in the eventual Lower Manhattan, in 1664, the year England took control and renamed it "New York".

3.
The Battle of Long Island, the largest battle of the American Revolution, took place in Brooklyn in 1776.

4.
Broadway follows the Native American Wickquasgeck Trail through Manhattan.

East Coast hip hop
–
East Coast hip hop is a regional subgenre of hip hop music that originated in the New York City area during the 1970s. In contrast to other styles, East Coast hip hop music has prioritized complex lyrics for attentive listening rather than beats for dancing, the main components of hip hop culture from that time and still today are MCing, DJing, bre

1.
RZA, producer and member of the Wu-Tang Clan

2.
Nas 's 1994 debut album Illmatic was critically acclaimed

Gangsta rap
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Gangsta rap or gangster rap is a subgenre of hip hop music with themes and lyrics that generally emphasize the gangsta lifestyle. After the national attention that Ice-T and N. W. A attracted in the late 1980s and early 1990s, gangsta rap became the most commercially lucrative subgenre of hip hop. Many gangsta rap artists openly boast of their asso

1.
N.W.A's Straight Outta Compton.

Bad Boy Records
–
Bad Boy Entertainment is an American record label founded in 1993 by Sean Combs. Today, it operates as an imprint of Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment, after his climb from a non-paying internship to becoming an A&R executive at Uptown Records, Sean Puff Daddy Combs was fired in 1993 by Andre Harrell. Combs soon founded Bad Boy R

1.
Bad Boy Records

Arista Records
–
/ˈɛ. rɪ. stə/ was a major American record label. It was a wholly owned unit of Sony Music Entertainment and was handled by Bertelsmann Music Group. The company operated under the RCA Music Group until 2011, the label was founded in 1974 by Clive Davis, who formerly worked for CBS Records. Until its demise in 2011, it was a distributor and promoter

1.
Primary businesses

Record producer
–
A record producer or music producer oversees and manages the sound recording and production of a band or performers music, which may range from recording one song to recording a lengthy concept album. A producer has many roles during the recording process, the roles of a producer vary. The producer may perform these roles himself, or help select th

1.
Alan Parsons in an ESO 50th anniversary video.

2.
A Danish recording session

3.
Mixing Console

Sean "Puffy" Combs
–
Sean John Combs, also known by his stage names Puff Daddy, Puffy, P. Diddy and Diddy, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, actor, record producer and entrepreneur. He was born in Harlem and was raised in Mount Vernon and he worked as a talent director at Uptown Records before founding his label Bad Boy Entertainment in 1993. His debut album N

1.
Combs performing in December 2010

2.
Bad Boy Entertainment Worldwide headquarters on Broadway near Times Square. A billboard of Combs is in the distance.

3.
Combs with his sons Christian and Justin at the Spider-Man 3 premiere (2007)

4.
Combs' star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

DJ Premier
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For its 20th-anniversary issue in 2008, The Source selected DJ Premier for its list of the 20 greatest producers in the magazines history. He also made the finals in Vibe magazines 2010 search for the greatest hip hop producer of all time—he finished second after Dr. Dre received 62 percent of the votes. DJ Premier hosts a weekly show, Live From He

1.
DJ Premier

2.
Performing in Germany, 1999

3.
DJ Premier's studio at D&D in 2000

Lord Finesse
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Lord Finesse is a hip-hop artist and producer, from The Bronx, New York, best known as the leader of the D. I. T. C. About. com ranked him number 29 on its list of the Top-50 Hip-Hop Producers. In 1989, Finesse and his former partner DJ Mike Smooth signed with Wild Pitch Records, home of popular hip hop artists such as Gang Starr, Main Source, Chil

1.
Lord Finesse at a Combat Jack Show in 2014.

Life After Death
–
The afterlife is the concept of a realm, or the realm itself, in which an essential part of an individuals identity or consciousness continues to exist after the death of the body. Belief in an afterlife, which may be naturalistic or supernatural, is in contrast to the belief in oblivion after death, in this latter view, such rebirths and deaths ma

2.
Ancient Egyptian papyrus depicting the journey into the afterlife. Paradise of Bhaishajyaguru discovered at the Mogao Caves.

3.
Domenico Beccafumi 's Inferno: a Christian vision of hell

4.
Mictlan

Single (music)
–
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a song recording of fewer tracks than an LP record, an album or an EP record. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats, in most cases, a single is a song that is released separately from an album, although it usually also appears on an album. Ty

1.
45 rpm single record

Juicy (The Notorious B.I.G. song)
–
Juicy is the debut single by American hip hop artist The Notorious B. I. G. and his first single from his 1994 debut album Ready to Die. It was produced by Poke of Trackmasters & Sean Puffy Combs and it contains a sample of Mtumes Juicy Fruit, but is directly sampled from the songs Fruity Instrumental mix, and has an alternative chorus sung by girl

1.
"Juicy"

Big Poppa
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Big Poppa is a song by American hip hop recording artist The Notorious B. I. G. It was released as the single from his first studio album Ready to Die. It features a sample of the song Between the Sheets written by The Isley Brothers, Big Poppa was also nominated for Best Rap Solo Performance at the 1996 Grammy Awards. It also went on to win at the

1.
"Big Poppa"

Studio album
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Album, is a collection of audio recordings issued as a single item on CD, record, audio tape, or another medium. Albums of recorded music were developed in the early 20th century, first as books of individual 78rpm records, vinyl LPs are still issued, though in the 21st century album sales have mostly focused on compact disc and MP3 formats. The au

1.
Early record albums were packages of 78 RPM records in book form

2.
Two vinyl records with inner and outer album sleeves

3.
A blank compact cassette tape and case

4.
A compact disc within an open 'Jewel Case'

Rapper
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The components of rapping include content, flow, and delivery. Rap differs from spoken-word poetry in that rap is performed in time to a beat. Rapping is often associated with and an ingredient of hip-hop music. Rapping is also used in Kwaito music, a genre originated in Johannesburg, South Africa. Another form of rap that predates hip hop was boxe

Sean Combs
–
Sean John Combs, also known by his stage names Puff Daddy, Puffy, P. Diddy and Diddy, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, actor, record producer and entrepreneur. He was born in Harlem and was raised in Mount Vernon and he worked as a talent director at Uptown Records before founding his label Bad Boy Entertainment in 1993. His debut album N

1.
Combs performing in December 2010

2.
Bad Boy Entertainment Worldwide headquarters on Broadway near Times Square. A billboard of Combs is in the distance.

3.
Combs with his sons Christian and Justin at the Spider-Man 3 premiere (2007)

4.
Combs' star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

Recording Industry Association of America
–
The Recording Industry Association of America is a continental North and South American trade organization that represents the recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors, which the RIAA says create, the RIAA headquarters is in Washington, D. C. The RIAA was formed in 1952 and its original mission

1.
Recording Industry Association of America

RIAA certification
–
In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Certification is not automatic, for an award to be made, the audit is conducted against net shipments after returns, which includes albums sold directly to retailers and

1.
A platinum award for the album GHV2 of Madonna.

West Coast hip hop
–
West Coast hip hop is a hip hop music subgenre that encompasses any artists or music that originates in the West Coast region of the United States. The culture is believed to have been a mutual creation which evolved from interaction between people who identified with elements from their respective coasts. A number of laid the foundations for West

1.
Dr. Dre, producer, solo artist and former member of N.W.A

Uptown Records
–
Uptown Records was an American record label, founded by Andre Harrell in 1986. It went on to one of the most popular hip-hop and R&B labels of the late 1980s. Featured on the roster were Guy, Heavy D & The Boyz, Jodeci, Mary J. Blige, sure. and Soul for Real amongst others. Founded in 1986 by one half of rap duo, Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde, after sec

1.
Uptown Records

XXL (magazine)
–
XXL is an American hip hop magazine, published by Townsquare Media, founded in 1997. In August 1997, Harris Publications released the first issue of XXL and it featured rappers Jay-Z and Master P on a double cover. In December 2006, XXL took over the hip hop producer and DJ magazine Scratch. However Scratch shut down less than a later in September

1.
Magazine cover of XXL Presents Shade 45

2.
XXL

Illicit drug trade
–
The illegal drug trade is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of drugs that are subject to drug prohibition laws. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of types of drugs through the use of drug prohibition laws. A UN report has stated that the drug trade generated an estimated US

1.
Jamaican drug lord Christopher Coke being escorted by DEA agents

2.
International drug routes

3.
US$207 million and additional amounts in other currencies were confiscated from Mexican Zhenli Ye Gon in 2007.

4.
Hashish seized in Operation Albatross, a joint operation of Afghan officials NATO and the DEA

North Carolina
–
North Carolina is a state in the southeastern region of the United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west, Virginia to the north, North Carolina is the 28th most extensive and the 9th most populous of the U. S. states. The state is divided into 100 counties, the most populous municipality is Charlot

1.
North Carolina topographic map

2.
Flag

3.
The Blue Ridge Mountains as seen from the Blue Ridge Parkway.

4.
Deer in the Eno River as it flows through the Piedmont region of North Carolina

Bridgeport Music
–
Bridgeport Music is a music publishing company founded in Michigan by Armen Boladian in 1969. It controls the copyrights to recordings by George Clinton and Funkadelic, among others, Bridgeport has sued for sampling infringements in popular music produced by Public Enemy, N. W. A, Jay-Z and The Notorious B. I. G. - a case in which the jury awarded

1.
Bridgeport Music, Inc. v. Dimension Films

Stanford Law School
–
Stanford Law School is a professional graduate school of Stanford University, located in the Silicon Valley near Palo Alto, California. Stanford Law has consistently been regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world, Stanford Law School employs more than 90 full-time and part-time faculty members and enrolls over 550 students wh

1.
Kurt Cobain (foreground) and Krist Novoselic live at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards

2.
Grays Harbor Hospital in Aberdeen, where Cobain was born

3.
The Fender Mustang Lake Placid Blue guitars played by Kurt Cobain during the filming of the video for " Smells Like Teen Spirit ", shown at the Seattle Experience Music Project

4.
Cobain's suicide note (full transcription). The final phrase before the valediction, "it's better to burn out than to fade away", is a quote from the lyrics of Neil Young 's song " Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black) "